I Don't Hate You Anymore
by Mistress Reigns
Summary: Daniel's championship is in Stephanie's hands and this is the moment when Kane is supposed to reaffirm why the Authority is not to be messed with. It never occurred to her that he might stop her plan from coming to fruition. After all, why stop being the perfect hired muscle at this point? Why do the right thing when he has largely made a career over doing the wrong thing?


She makes it perfectly clear what she wants when she relays her desires Monday night.

Apparently, Daddy's little girl being told "no" is unusual and it amuses him how angry she seems when she is refused what she wants the most. Having Daniel Bryan hand over his championship is what is _best for business_ but really all she wants is for him to hand it over because there is no one who can take it from him. Making him wrestle is against the rules, and at this point Kane is convinced that even with a broken neck, Daniel will defend his championship like the A-plus player Stephanie claims he is not. And saying he has a B-plus body? Funny coming from a woman who used her money to buy silicone for her chest.

Daniel Bryan will most likely hand over the championship now that is wife's career is in jeopardy, but Stephanie is also holding onto the belief that Brie might give up her career instead of allowing her husband to be plowed over again. Either way, he _will_ be plowed over and Kane has been chosen for the job. He's been doing as she asked ever since he started working with her, pile driving Daniel when she said and ignoring her "demands" for him to stop. Though he does feel a tinge of remorse for being forced to attack Brad Maddox; the guy can't weight two hundred soaking wet no matter what is billing claims and he was pretty roughed up after Roman and Dean demanded a job as guest commentators. Hunter is the idiot; he tried to cheat.

"You'll pile drive him," Stephanie says, "and you'll drag Brie backstage. Do you understand?"

_Pile drive him with his neck already damaged. Surgery might not be able to fix him this time and you know it, you fucking bitch._ But he plays the good lapdog and nods like he understands, then immediately shakes her little plan out of his mind. _No._ He says it in Daniel's voice in his head, a resounding _no_ every time he so much as thinks about following Stephanie's plan.

People think he's stupid, but within minutes he formulates his own plan that will surely go over well with the fans. It might get him fired, but at this point, he doesn't care about his own job.

If Hunter loses in his match to the Shield because he's too battered to move, that is not Kane's concern. Evolution is not his concern. His job is not his concern. Certainly he doesn't like the Shield—he never has, really—but they are on the same side of this battle as Daniel is, constantly screwed over by the Authority and given next to no chance to really prove themselves as a result. No, he doesn't like them and never will, but the thought of costing Evolution their match as a result of ensuring Daniel gets to keep his championship is looking more attractive as time passes. By the time the week has passed and Sunday is upon them, Kane's plan is set in stone.

He stills runs it by Taker. Not that the two of them are particularly close, but Taker is the last family he truly calls his own. "She wants me to hurt him. But I don't plan on doing that."

_"You miss him. That's why you won't do it."_ Taker sounds smug through the phone.

"No. It wouldn't matter if I did." And it doesn't. Correction, it _wouldn't._ Team Hell No is over. It will never again be a reality. This is just a formality, really. "I'm going after Hunter instead."

There is a long pause during which he thinks the call might have dropped before Taker finally begins to speak again. _"Risks abound in this scenario, and you know that. I know you do. You could lose everything as soon as she realizes what you've done. But if you feel like the rewards, whatever they may be, outweigh the risks, then you need to go through with it."_

Finding Hunter at _Payback_ is hellishly easy; he just has to ask and someone points him in the right direction because he is just the lapdog of the Authority and not a true risk to them anymore… Or so they think. It takes literal minutes to trash Hunter's office, using his body to break the desk and smash the pictures hung on the walls as well as the chairs. After all, Kane is strong and when he has a battering ram as large as Hunter Helmsley, it is hardly a chore to easily destroy the room. No one comes in to stop him; if anyone knows he is in the room, that would go a long way toward explaining it, after all. By the time he finishes, Stephanie is expecting him; she told him what time to come to the ring prior to going out into it herself.

No one says anything or stops him when he walks through the hallways with Hunter's limp form tossed over one shoulder. Even newer people who can't possibly know him as well as the seasoned workers scurry away; Heath Slater is walking toward him and immediately flattens himself against the wall, eyes wide but turned away. Kane cannot resist rattling the younger superstar and ruffles his hair as he passes, intent on finding the entrance on-time for this moment.

The flare of the pyrotechnics and his music sounds just as he finds where he is supposed to be. Several wrestlers milling around freeze when they see him, but he ignores them. Instead, he simply readjusts Hunter on his shoulder and steps out onto the entrance ramp. Even from the distance, he can see Stephanie's trademark smirk freeze on her face as she takes in the scene she's now presented with. Daniel's championship is in Stephanie's hands and this is the moment when Kane is supposed to reaffirm why the Authority is not to be messed with.

It never occurred to her that he might stop her plan from coming to fruition. After all, why stop being the perfect hired muscle at this point? Why do the right thing when he has largely made a career over doing the wrong thing? Maybe Taker was right. _No. He is not right. He never will be._

"Kane, what did you do?" Stephanie shrieks into the microphone, but Kane just keeps walking toward the ring, one hand braced on Hunter's back to keep him from sliding. He shrugs him down on the ring apron, stepping into the ring and dragging him under the ropes.

Then he grabs the front of Hunter's pressed button-up and lifts him a few feet, dropping him down at Stephanie's feet like a dog brings a dead bird to its owner. Isn't that what he's done?

The thing of it is, Hunter probably won't need surgery. With as much as he was tossed around in his office minutes ago, thrown at his wife's feet, he'll probably ache and be sore, maybe have a few broken bones, but he won't need serious, life-altering surgery for an injury that might destroy his career. Kane has been pile driving people for years upon years and he's never quite fucked it up to the degree he did that Monday night. The only person who fucked it up more than him was Owen Hart, and that was a simple mistake that could've been avoided with some care.

And that is unfair. This business has largely been unfair, though. Especially once Hunter and Stephanie learned that siding with Vince and then stealing the company out from under him was a better idea than simply trying to fight him. But tonight, the tides are changing. They won't change all at once and they might not change at all, but the confusion, the shock, and the outrage warring for place in Stephanie McMahon's eyes is the first step on the right path.

She holds the microphone limply in one hand; it's nothing to take it from her, curling his fingers around it because it's been awfully long since he has had a chance to speak into one. But Demon or not, Monster or not, he can speak just fine and she needs to hear him. _Everyone_ does. "You wanted me to come out here and attack Daniel Bryan even though he gave up his championship."

The fans shriek, enraged, and he sees both Daniel and Brie shoot Stephanie incredulous looks. Funny how he never thought he would be on _their_ side. Not after Daniel met Brie. Not after their late night conversations were cut short because Daniel wanted to spend time with Brie since being on the road gave them ample time to spend together. Not after Daniel came back late one night with a broad smile and a simple declaration that ruined everything: _I think I love her._

Once the fans quiet down to an acceptable level, Kane continues. "But I'm not going to do what you want me to do. Not when he did what you asked him to do. But…"

"What are you doing?" Stephanie demands as he crouches down, his free hand fisting in the back of Hunter's shirt and slowly dragging him up again. For him, it's nothing holding a man's dead weight up even if it is at waist height, and she knows this. He knows she does. "Kane, put Hunter down right now. You know what you're supposed to do. Put him down and _do it._"

"Give Daniel Bryan his championship back and I will." He gives Hunter a rough shake, showing Stephanie that her husband is unconscious. "Keep it and I finish him off in front of you."

Her eyes are blue steel and no one has been able to push her this far, not like he has tonight, but the moment her resolve weakens, it's worth it. He sees when the starch is gone and her gaze flicks down to the championship; he can almost hear the run of her thoughts. _Is taking this away from him worth Hunter being hurt?_ Another person might have sarcastically asked if she knew which was best for business—the championship being taken from an injured man or the incapacitation of her husband and the company COO. But he knows better and simply waits while the fans start chanting _"Yes!"_ in the background. Waits while the stares of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella bore into him, silently questioning his motives.

Stephanie is not an idiot; she exhales heavily before transferring both belts to one hand she extends silently to Daniel. He watches her, obviously not sure if this is a trick or not, before he takes them back and the fans scream. But Kane keeps his eyes on Stephanie as he drops Hunter back at her feet. Immediately she kneels down to help him, which leaves Kane to glance over at Daniel holding his championships while his wife smiles up at him.

Daniel finally lifts his head to meet Kane's gaze and it's like a punch in the gut, but Kane knows better than to react. When Daniel extends a hand, Kane relinquishes the microphone silently.

"You tried to take this away from me," Daniel says once the fans are yet again sufficiently quiet. "You were going to destroy me at _Extreme Rules_ and you tried to destroy me before and after You attacked me and my wife for no reason. Why are you helping me now?"

He doesn't ask for the microphone back and Daniel doesn't offer to hand it over, seeming to understand this is something that the crowd needs not here. Instead, he lets the microphone fall to his side, allowing Kane to speak freely without the fans hearing. That is for the best because the real reason is one none of them would know or understand. "I don't hate you anymore."

Brie furrows her brows in confusion but Daniel understands and smiles a bittersweet smile.

Then he lifts the microphone again and in a stroke of brilliance, says, "Let's be a team again."

If the earlier reactions were zealous, this is pandemonium. But Team Hell No hasn't wrestled in forever and apparently, they miss it. _"Yes! Yes! Yes!"_ Over and over in a maddening mantra.

"Do you people miss it?" Daniel demands, turning to face the fans, who immediately start chanting back at him, feeding off of his energy. "Do you want to see Team Hell No again?"

He says _again_ but Kane knows they will never be what they used to be. Daniel has changed and for the better, has found his way out of the anger, out of the self-esteem issues, and has found love with someone who is good for him. Who is _right_ for him as much as Kane hates to admit it. They won't be the same team they used to be, but maybe that's for the best for both of them.

Daniel obviously wanted the fans to agree, which they do, because he turns back to Kane and it's obvious what he's going to say before he says it. "What do you say? Resurrect the team?"

He should say no. They aren't who they used to be and that's fine because Daniel found what he wanted and needed the most, and Kane can survive without him. He's done so perfectly fine… And he made missteps in following Stephanie's orders but now he knows better and Daniel seems to have forgiven him. They were champions once, together, but that was _then._

The fact is, they are so vastly different people in-ring that, oddly, it worked. But they were similar personality wise at the time and so things made sense. Only when Daniel started to worry about himself did things change and even with him yet again self-confident enough to scream in his boss's face, Kane knows this isn't going to work out. At the very least, he knows he can move on if he is given the time and space needed for such a thing. He's done it before, and doing it again will not be a problem. But being in a team with Daniel will not afford him any of it.

He should say no. So he takes the microphone and answers Daniel's question. "Hell _yes._"

* * *

_**A/N: So, I don't know what's going to happen at Payback on Sunday involving Daniel Bryan and his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. But I do know what should happen. And it should be this.**_


End file.
